Flaked

From the first second of the opening scene I had already heard, “ I killed a man” coming out of Chips mouth. The director did a great job in having the viewer at the edge of their seats wanting to hear more, see more, and feel more from Chip. I knew from that first second that I was going to love this show, or so I thought I would...

Looking back on the first episode that I just watched, I pondered around and asked myself the following questions: Why did you start to drift off as Flaked rounded to the twenty-two minute marker into the first episode? Why did the director use the first five minutes to be an eye catching thriller, but then have the playback scene/ foundation scene of Flaked stop and fade away into what Chips life is like today? Why did the director chose to start the introduction off with such strong and vibrant cinematic language, just to have it drop off a cliff (metaphorically speaking)?

One positive aspect that came from this first episode was the cinematography. You can really tell how much thought the director put into each frame because of the angles at which each scene was shot from. When Chip was speaking at his AA meeting the way that the light shines over the other members heads and their hair glistens in the light is such an illuminating sight. On the other hand one negative aspects of the first episode was the costume design. Finally, thirteen minutes before the episode concluded, some sort of color seemed to pop. Making the choice to have bland colors and edits throughout almost the whole episode makes me feel gloomy and not excited to hear what's coming next. Although, the director may have done this to set the theme of how Chips everyday life is today.

I do love how real Flaked is. Every character I can somehow relate back to someone that I know, in some way, shape, or form. The realistic approach that the director chooses to take in creating a universal theme for this first episode is something that will pull in a variety of different people. The theme as stated in the above paragraph is, the everyday life of not so normal everyday people. Society teaches us that it is a disgrace to our culture to have to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, but in the real world many more people may have these sort of requirements than we think or know.

Flaked gives reassurance to those struggling through addiction or to those who are recovering addicts. The reassurance given is that the decisions you have made/ will make are important and DO affect the rest of your life. One miniscule decision that you make could totally destroy your whole existence. I feel like this whole episode could be a public health announcement saying it is okay to ask for help. It is okay to not be okay. It is okay to be vulnerable.